A CITY builder locked in dispute with a customer used a JCB to turn a house extension into a pile of bricks.

The homeowner has been left with a garden turned into a rubble-filled wasteland – but a spokesman for the building firm said the family had been given more than enough notice to pay an outstanding bill.

The partially-completed extension was knocked down after owner Sarmin Nessa withheld a £5,000 payment, claiming she said she became unhappy with the time being taken to complete the job.

A worker from MA Building Contractors Bham Ltd used a JCB to demolish part of an extension at a property on Walsall Road in Perry Barr. West Midlands Police told the Birmingham Mail they were investigating an allegation of criminal damage.

First-time buyer Ms Nessa said that she agreed a £16,500 price for the extension, which was to include a kitchen and downstairs toilet, and put down a £1,000 deposit payment in April.

She said she then made a further five payments between May and July totalling £11,500, but withheld a payment of £5,000 in a dispute over the amount of work being carried out.

But a spokesman for the building firm today insisted that the matter was a “civil one”, and claimed that the value of the project was closer to £32,000, for which they had not received full payment for. The family told the Birmingham Mail the figure of £32,000 had never been mentioned to them.

Ms Nessa said she received a call from one of her new neighbours on the morning of August 15 to tell her that a JCB had arrived at the property and had demolished part of the single-storey extension to the rear of her property.

Ms Nessa, 37, said: “I was just so upset when I arrived to see what had happened.

“It was all my savings gone and it was so shocking to see what they had done.

“I only got the keys in March and I saved up for so long with the help of my family, so I am devastated.

“There was no such conversation about £32,000. Nothing was given to me – it was me telling them because they were taking so long to finish the job.”

A family member speaking on behalf of MA Building Contractors Bham Ltd, which is registered to an address in Church Lane, Handsworth, said Ms Nessa had been given prior warning over the action they would take over non-payment for goods and services.

He also said the firm had contacted the police on the morning of the incident to advise them of the action they were going to take.

The man, who asked not to be named, said: “They were given six weeks’ notice.

“You can’t have building work commissioned and then turn around and say that you can’t pay.”

A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: “We can confirm that at 10.37am on Sunday 15 August, police received a 999 call reporting a dispute between a builder and a homeowner on Walsall Road, Perry Barr.

“When officers arrived, they found partially completed building works demolished and structural damage to the existing property.

“House-to-house enquiries have been made and CCTV footage is being reviewed. The investigation continues and the incident has now been recorded as criminal damage. No arrests have been made at this stage.”